Mikayla

After their first kiss, he was right in front of her, his lips on hers, and as much as she wanted to pull away, she couldn’t—no, it was more like she wouldn’t. Breaking contact for a second, the dark eyes of Nolan’s pierced her soul, and she shuddered, knowing she couldn’t go back if she decided to go forward.

“Sweetness, tell me to stop.” His hand reached the bottom of her top. Her body went still, and again, she couldn’t find the words.

When his hands found her breasts, bringing them under her bra, he tipped her head to his. “Now, sweetness, I need you to use your words. Tell me this is what you want. If not, I will stop.”

She stalled. How could she find her words when she was battling the demons within? Staying silent for Nolan wasn’t good enough. She had to admit she wanted him. When she didn’t say a word, he stood, leaving them both breathless and gasping for air. Walking toward the door, he spun around. “You know where to find me, sweetness, when you can admit something is here.” With that, he shut the door behind him, making her both curse the ground he walked on as well as worship it at the same time.

* * *

Angry was not quite how Mikayla would describe her emotions when it came to Nolan. There were times she wanted to kill him, then in the same breath, she’d want him to take her hard over the kitchen table. How could someone who changed her life in such a drastic way be able to make her love him, even if only half her body did this?

At night, she fantasized what it would be like to have his body next to hers, tangled together and breathless from him ravaging her. But all she had to do to hate Nolan again was think of her mother and how lost Libby was without her.

When she finally appeared at dinnertime, his back remained to hers, not turning with his normal greeting. Having already plated her food, she accidentally rubbed her arm against him, and though it wasn’t intentional, her arm remained touching his.

His warning came out only when his voice rose, and he said, “Mikayla.”

Still she was silent, and he continued, “You have to say something, anything.”

Her words were frozen, out of respect for herself and the family she left behind.

“It was Blake; he belittled me, damaging everything about me for years.” Her voice could only be heard by the person standing closest to her. Taking her, he embraced her, letting her tears escape.

“Let it out, Mikayla, sweetness. Let it out,” Nolan replied.

It was the release she needed to admit to a relationship that kept her in chains for years. In her mind, memories of his fits of anger that would rise from nowhere came flooding back to her. He freaked out when he found out she had slept with Ethan, though he was not her first. In retrospect, that was not a normal brother-sister conversation. Sure, her dad would be upset to know that about her, and she could understand Blake not wanting to hear the details of his little sister’s sex life, but he freaked out like a jealous boyfriend. She didn’t see the distorted manner of their relationship, not until Nolan removed her from the bondage. Now she could see this impossible situation with Blake with more focus. Nolan allowed her to see the whole situation with better clarity.

Leaning back from her, he looked deep into her soul, and she could feel his mind permeating the barriers she built because of Blake. “This is the first, Mikayla. I know you want help now. I’m here to help you.”

It wasn’t the words, but the way he delivered them that gave her confidence that he was telling her the truth.

“I don’t know why I want you,” she admitted, and since she’d just bared her soul, she might as well get this out too.

“I honestly don’t know either, sweetness, but I want you too. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

She brought her chin to her chest. “I can’t bring you into my life when I get back to Bellingham. You will have to let me go.”

“Then if it’s having you for now or never having you, I will pick you any way I can have you.” He kissed her neck, only increasing her moans. “Mikayla, you need to tell me this is what you want.”

Backing away, she turned, running to her room.

* * *

Taylor

Her father sat on her bed one day. “You know, I saw the resemblance the second the news broke, but no one mentioned how much you and that missing girl look alike. It’s unbearable to even think that could have been you, honey. Is that why you are so obsessed with this case?” her dad asked as if he was reading her mind. “But your mom said it came as a shock to you.”

“It did, but I see it now. It certainly could be one reason, subconsciously. She’s a local girl like me, abducted from the town where she grew up. It’s a bit unsettling, to say the least.”

Her father grabbed her hand with the affection only a father could. “I know it’s scary in the big, dark world, but, honey, you can’t stop living. When the twin towers went down, we all felt like you. I never wanted to get on a plane again. I mean, I travel so often and to those locations, but it just wasn’t my day to die. As hard as it was to board another plane, I had to, and you must pick a college, and if Western is your first choice, don’t let some sicko win by altering your life too.”

Those were the words that Taylor needed to hear in order to stop this fascination that had taken over her life. Though she chose to move on from this stranger she was mourning, Mikayla’s mysterious disappearance never strayed far from Taylor’s thoughts.

* * *

Libby

Acceptance was coming to Adam that their little girl would never return to the house they raised her in. The mother inside Libby couldn’t accept it. It was nearing three months, and her heart felt a void that very few could truly understand.

Her time with Delaney was heaven as she snuggled her as she had her other children. One morning on his way out the door, Mark looked at her with such appreciation in his eyes. “This is a really good fit for us, Mrs. Miller. I appreciate it more than I can express.”

“It’s good for me too.” That was all she could say. The truth was, wrapping herself up with another child really did cause a sense of need that she felt was taken from her. Sure, Blake and Jenna still needed her but in different ways.

She still had this physical pain that she couldn’t quite articulate, though. “Mom,” Jenna said one night, “I think you need to explore group options. Speak with those who have undergone something similar.” Her child convinced her to attend group meetings for parents of victimized children. She had wanted Adam to go with her, but he was unable to hear the heartfelt stories of those who had lost children. In the end, Blake went with her. He needed closure as much as Libby needed it, but she knew she’d never get it, and she doubted with as close as he and Mikayla were, he would ever receive it either.

Blake felt the group wasn’t quite right for him but encouraged his mom to continue. Somehow, Libby found her niche there. It was tough at first as she heard story after story concerning grief. Even though it was sad, it was nice at the same time, knowing that others were going through similar situations.

She kept trudging through it, though some days were harder to get through than others. The tragedy that each person had experienced was mind-blowing. She knew she was always so fortunate in what she had in her family. Adam was a supportive husband. Their story was your typical meeting, dating, and marriage in three years’ time. Jenna came along three years later, and Blake was part of their life three years after that, and then after three miscarriages, they thought that the baby aspect of their life was past them until Mikayla made an appearance in their lives just six years after having Jenna.

Jenna was the most attentive older sister, acting as if she was indeed the mother instead of Libby, and Blake was protective of her from the very beginning.

But in motherhood, she never forgot about Adam. As her children became her centerpiece in life, she still made room for Adam as just not the father of her kids but also as her husband and lover. He was tender, and though it was normally behind closed doors, he still treated Libby like royalty. It was a marriage of give and take, and it was one she cherished.

The support group showed her how people dealt with grief in their own way, and that was the hope in her mind as she decided to give Adam the space he needed to process his hurt on a different level than her own.